Liquid`SC2 Invades WCS Ro8

On the critical second day of the WCS Season 1 Finals, Liquid`SC2 continued the team's fine run of form, with TLO, Snute, and Bunny advancing to the Ro8. Only MaNa—who was confined to his own personal group of death—failed to advance.

The results set up an unprecedented Ro8 with three Liquid players. Unfortunately, both Bunny and Snute will play each other in that round, but on the bright side, it ensures at least a single Liquidian in the semi-finals. Meanwhile, TLO will have his hands full against Hydra.





The day started brilliantly, with TLO intimidated by having to win two consecutive matches in Group A to advance. He first defeated iG.XiGua 2-1, finishing off the Chinese zerg on Catallena. He then faced mYi.Serral, who had just been defeated by MǂforGG. With the series at 1-1, TLO again found victory on Catallena with an aggressive roach ling attack.

With the dual victories, TLO secured his advancement into the Ro8. Our German zerg has played in all seven WCS tournaments, a feat that shouldn't be underestimated. But this is only TLO's second Ro8. He'll be extremely eager to show his doubters and fans alike his skill and experience on the biggest stage of 2015 so far.



Next, in Group B, Snute took care of business against aTn.ShoWTimE. Game one went smoothly, as our Norwegian zerg built early roaches and lings and surprised the protoss out on the map without enough mothership core energy for a recall, winning a minute after. In contrast, game two dragged out for nearly an hour, as Snute carefully guided a split map situation to its inevitable conclusion.

The 2-0 win brings Snute to his third Ro8. With an amazing 11-1 record in WCS Challenger and Premier this season, he's among the tournament favorites.



The one dark cloud on the day was the fate of MaNa, who faced his eternal nemesis ESC.FireCake in the lower match of Group C. Unfortunately, it felt as though MaNa's history with his opponent was too much on his mind. In the first game, he attempted a proxy gate which failed. While MaNa rallied back with a dominant smashing of FireCake's swarmhosts in game two, he again broke character in game three with an aggressive gateway attack. The French zerg massed roaches and lings in response and was able to defend and knock MaNa out in the Ro16.

Despite the premature ending, it was a great tournament for MaNa, who showed plenty of skill in the Ro32, and proved to everyone who doubted him that he was again among Europe's elite.



In last action of the day, Bunny looked to have smooth sailing vs mYi.Kane in Group D. But the Canadian zerg had other plans, playing extremely well to sink our Danish terran 0-2. That forced Bunny into a bo3 against the king of cheese, yFW.Has in order to advance. The Taiwanese protoss made things interesting (real interesting), but Bunny was able to fend off a proxy gate into void ray all-in in game one, then a three gate in game two.

With a 2-0 win, Bunny completed a fantastic day for Liquid on a high note, securing a third placement in the Ro8!



With three Liquid players in the Ro8, teamkills were always likely. Unfortunately, it's come to pass, with Snute and Bunny drawn against each other. Aligulac sees this as Bunny favored, but the two players might not agree, especially after the vulnerabilities Bunny showed in TvZ on day two.

Estimated by Aligulac. Modify.

In the other Liquid Ro8 match, TLO will face Hydra. It's not an easy match-up by any stretch, but it is doable. ZvZ is a match-up that TLO clearly understands deeply, while Hydra has yet to be tested in the match-up this WCS. Similar to the teamkill, Aligulac may be underestimating the underdog here.

Estimated by Aligulac. Modify.

The playoffs start tomorrow at 09:30 GMT (+00:00). It's been a fantastic WCS so far, don't miss the conclusion!

Liquid Fighting!

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